Grief to Grace
by Dr.YangOfRavenclaw
Summary: Alex finds he's good at turning everyone's life upside down when his little sister Amber needs to be adopted and she spends all her free time trying to make his life as difficult as possible. / Alex/Lexie, with Alex/April friendship.
1. Prologue

**This is a new story about Alex and his little sister Amber. Takes place mid season 6, Izzie has left but the shooting has not happened yet. I know Amber is supposed to be already graduated, but in this story, she is 13. THIS IS AN ALEX/LEXIE STORY BE WARNED. After this chapter, they will be in first person. BTW, I totally made up the law that says you need to be married to adopt, it just reminded me of when Mer and Derek got married to adopt Zola.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Grey's Anatomy**

Alex had never been particularly good at commitments, in fact, he tended to avoid them wherever possible. Lexie, on the other hand, was one of those clingy exes that came back to haunt you when you least expect it. So when Lexie and Alex were official, everyone was an abhorrent mix of astonished and victorious. It may seem so pedestrian that, even as you are reading this very passage, your eyes skim across it as if it was never there to begin with. But to Alex, monogamy was a big deal. Even in high school, it was never his thing. A "love 'em and leave 'em" type, if you will.

So if you told Alex when he awoke on this usual cloudy day where our story begins, that he would commit to two significant people in one day, he very well may have let his knuckles not-so-politely meet your face.

Alex woke up before Lexie, which was unusual as Lexie was usually the one who had to drag Alex out of bed, bribing him with food and sex in the shower. This was only the first of many unusual events to occur today. For example, there was a silver Cadillac parked in his spot this morning, meaning he had to walk father than usual, which in turn made him aggravated. He spent much of the nearly 5 minute walk complaining angrily that 'if people can't read, the shouldn't drive,' only stopping when Lexie rubbed her thumb over his hand soothingly and gently kissed his cheek.

"Relax, baby. It's not a big deal." She said, and Alex finally showed some signs of a smile.

They walked into the hospital hand-in-hand, as they did so they were met with a sight that made Alex's insides make an uncomfortable leap.

To you, who may not quite understand, this may not seem like it's a big deal at all. But to Alex, the idea of a 13 year old, rather this particular 13 year old, standing there with a social worker, was like swimming through a pool of hungry sharks.

There was something in her eyes, he decided, that made his insides drop. This little girl looked exactly like his mother, and he got a rather unpleasant feeling in his gut. The feeling was that this girl was about to turn their lives upside down.

 **I just want to say, that was only the prologue, chapter one starts off right after this but it will be longer. I can't remember when Alex went back to Iowa when Aaron was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but I know it was after this because this is around the time when Aaron comes in with his hernia. So I'm sorry for any mistakes, but some of these episodes I haven't seen in awhile. I know I don't typically write Alex/Lexie, but this sort of wrote itself, at first it was with Izzie, not Lexie, but it just made more sense for him to be with Lexie. So, enough with this stupid rant, already.**

 **R &R, **

**~Lexi(e)~**


	2. I'm Only Here To Help

**Okay I didn't clear this up before. Aaron never came to Seattle for his hernia repair and diagnosed with schizophrenia around the time Izzie left.**

"Dr. Karev, my name is Michelle Greene, I'm the social worker in charge of your sister's case, I'd appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes to talk."

Alex felt like puking. His head was throbbing and he looked absolutely green. Lexie squeezed his hand, which brought his attention back to the issue at hand. "I-uh-have surgery in like 15 minutes, can it wait till after that?" He asked. Michelle nodded, and Amber Karev stood there glaring at her eldest brother. Lexie pulled on his arm and brought him to the elevator, pushing the up button.

"Alex, baby, are you okay?" Lexie asked sweetly, looking up at him with big doe eyes. He nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I'll be fine. You wanna scrub in with me and Robbins?" He asked, and she nodded eagerly. They got on the crowded elevator silently, and waited until it stopped on their floor. The two of them entered the resident's locker room and Alex sat his stuff in his locker. A 'hey' was all he offered to Meredith as she looked at him puzzled.

Lexie noticed he looked extremely green. Meredith offered him a hug, and Lexie saw she looked at him with an intense brotherly love. He might have a sister downstairs that seemed to hate him, but at least he had a sister up here that didn't.

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"Anthony Gibbons, age 13, admitted last night for a lung transplant. We got the donor lungs, and we'll be taking him up in about five minutes." Alex reported to Arizona. She nodded, smiling as always. She had been trying to be nice and impress him, so he said he could pick any first year resident to scrub in with them. He had obviously chosen Lexie, who smiled sweetly at him. They walked out of Anthony's room, and Alex heard a few murmurs from the other first year residents. "..only chosen because she's sleeping with him...if I would have known.."

"Hey! Losers! Shut up! Dr. Grey is the best surgeon in your year and the other 3rd years agree. So if there's anything else you'd like to say about her, you can bring it up with me. Now here." He said, grabbing a pile of charts the size of a small child. He dropped four of them in all the other first years arms. "Go do scut somewhere." They all walked away silently, and he turned to Lexie. She had clearly tried to look mad but failed as a huge grin spread across her face.

"I don't need backup, Alex. I can deal with the stupid people on my own." Nonetheless, she winked at him. They walked together up to the OR floor, and they scrubbed in as they brought in Anthony.

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.

"Are you ready, Dr. Grey?" Even though he was wearing a mask, Lexie could tell he was smiling.

"Absolutely, Dr. Karev. I couldn't be more ready." She too was wearing a mask, but she was smiling nonetheless.

"Alright, lets go." He walked in through the door into the OR. Lexie hung back and watched him. Arizona was already scrubbed and standing there. You couldn't see because of the mask, but she was clearly talking to Alex. He was nodding and, and Lexie couldn't help but smile. Things with her and Mark had crashed horribly, and she didn't want to go through that again with Alex.

She had a horrible, sinking feeling in her stomach. If Amber Karev was downstairs with a social worker for the reason she suspected that she would be put in the same position she had been put in before. Lexie admonished herself for being so foolish. There was a 13 year old in there, about to have his life changed completely forever, and she was standing there worrying about her love life.

Alex's eyes met Lexie's and she smiled. He walked into the room, and even though he was wearing a mask, she could tell beyond doubt that he was grinning hugely.

"You coming?" He asked. His eyes sparkled in a way that made Lexie's heart leap. She knew he wouldn't let her down like Mark did. She had every reason in the world to believe that he would, given his history with Izzie. Still, when she closed her eyes, all she could see was his sweet face staring at her. He smiled almost all the time around her. So, somewhere deep and mushy in her heart, she knew he wouldn't let her down.

He couldn't.

"Coming, Dr. Karev." She offered him a smile as she tied on her mask and entered the OR.

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"Well done in there, Dr. Grey." Alex said to Lexie as they scrubbed out.

"Thank you, Dr. Karev. You did astonishing work in there today." Alex blushed, he _actually_ blushed, and Lexie, in return, looked away embarrassed. As soon as the last scrub nurse was out of the scrub room and the OR, he grabbed Lexie and pushed her up against the sinks. He leaned down and crushed his lips to hers. She responded immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Dude, I freaking love you." Alex breathed as they pulled apart.

It was Lexie's turn to blush, and Alex smiled at this. "I love you too, Alex." She said, kissing him again. He smiled into the kiss, running his tongue softly over Lexie's bottom lip. She opened her lips instantaneously, greeting him halfway. They sat there making out for almost 2 full minutes until they heard the door open.

"Dr. Karev-oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to interrupt, but there's a Michelle Greene downstairs looking for you. She says it's urgent." The intern blushed and ran out. Alex sighed and pulled away from Lexie.

"I didn't know you had a sister." Lexie said, looking into Alex's eyes and gave her best doe-eyed puppy gaze. He sighed.

"She's 13. Her name's Amber. I have no freaking clue why she's down there with a damn social worker, but I know that she's gonna really hate me. Like a whole level above the normal hatred. She's gonna despise me, I'll be surprised if she doesn't try to kill me as soon as she sees me. The last time I saw her she was crying and begging me not to leave for Seattle. She's gonna jump on me, and the girl is gonna beat my face in. I might as well go down there and face the music."

"Want me to go with?" Lexie said, stroking his face lovingly. Alex nodded. "Okay then," she said. "Let's go."

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"YOU FUCKING BASTARD, I HATE YOU SO MUCH! YOU LEFT ME WITH AARON AND MOM, ALL ALONE! I'D RATHER BE BACK IN IOWA IN A DAMN HOME WITH MOM AND AARON THAN BE HERE WITH YOU AND YOUR SORRY FACE!" Amber screamed as soon as she saw Alex. She started attacking him, punching, slapping and kicking every inch of him she could reach. It was pretty clear that she did no damage except to her own hands, but she had tears streaming down her face. It seemed that she had bottled all this up for years and finally let it all out.

Michelle led Alex into a conference room away from the prying eyes of the inhabitants of the lobby.

"Amber's situation is unique. You are the last remaining relative still viable for adoption. With the case of your mother and brother, it seems she will have to be placed in your care or will be placed in a foster home back in Iowa." Michelle told all this to Alex, who wasn't nursing any real wounds other than the bruise forming above his eye.

"I thought, maybe, you could consider adopting her, or maybe even fostering her? But today's events clearly show that that is a bad idea." Alex set the ice pack down on the table and folded his hands.

"Are you asking me if I wanted to adopt my baby sister? Because I'd do it in a heartbeat without thinking twice. But why have you waited until now to address this?"

"Well I was waiting until your job was less hectic-" Michelle tried to reason with Alex, but he had already slammed the ice pack on the table.

"Less hectic?! I'm in the middle of my third year as a resident! My job won't get less hectic until I freaking retire!"

"Dr. Karev, I understand you're frustrated, but I really believe this would be good for both you and Amber."

Alex sighed, folding his arms neatly on the table and placing his head on his arms. "Look. I'd love to adopt my little sister. But you saw her reaction to me."

"Dr. Karev, I realize you are frustrated, but this really is her best shot. You want that for her, don't you?" Michelle put a hand on Alex's arm to try to comfort him. She saw a few tears drip down his face.

"I love Amber, I do. I'm not the monster she thinks I am. I left to make a life for myself. I fund my mom and Aaron, their meds and care, everything. Without me moving out here, I would have nothing. So yeah, I'd love to adopt her. But I live in a house with 5 other people."

"A stable environment is one that has love and support. If you and your 5 other people are close and loving, I see no problem. If Amber will agree, I think you should consider adoption. It could do wonders for you and her and even your girlfriend. She is your girlfriend, I assume. The young doe eyed one?" Alex nodded.

"If Amber agrees, I'll talk to Lexie and see what she says."

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"You only need a few stitches, sweetie." Lexie was stitching Amber's hand up as the teen silently cried.

"I feel bad. I shouldn't have jumped on him. I just hate his freaking guts so much. You're sleeping with him, my brother, aren't you?"

Lexie looked up at the girl, shocked. "W-what?"

"I'm not dumb. I saw you holding his and and he has a hickey on his neck." Lexie blushed.

"It's, uh, a little more complicated than that."

"Whatever." Amber went back to being silent and allowed Lexie to stitch her up. Alex came out of the conference room with Michelle behind him, and he walked up to the two girls.

"Hey Lex, when you're done, can I talk to you?" Alex asked.

"Sure, I'm almost done here. She did more damage to herself than you, clearly." Lexie finished the last stitch and stood up, pulling off her gloves and throwing them out. Alex led her to the conference room they had just left and Michelle told Amber to stay where she was. Michelle sat next to Lexie silently, as Alex and Lexie sat across from each other.

"Lex, I wanted to ask you something kind of really important. Amber needs a home, and Michelle told me that I can adopt her. If she agrees, would you be okay with that?" Alex held his breath as Lexie contemplated this.

"If she agrees, I see no problem with it, but I think she kind of hates me." Lexie said sheepishly.

"Yeah, that's because she hates me and everything associated with me." Alex sighed. Convincing Amber of this was going to be difficult. Lexie grabbed his hand and forced him to look at her. She rubbed her thumb soothingly over his hand.

"We'll do this together, Alex. I love you." Alex smiled and wondered how he got so lucky to have someone like Lexie in his life.

"I love you too."

"Okay, lets go get changed out of these scrubs and then talk to her." Lexie said, as she stood up. Alex stood and followed her out, but before he left, he turned back at Michelle.

"Thanks for everything, really." He said, offering her a genuine smile.

"It's no problem, really. You two go and get changed, I'll wait with Amber and keep her company." Michelle followed Alex out, and she turned to find Amber sitting there, pouting as intensely as possible. Michelle sighed. 'This is gonna be fun.' she thought, as she made her way to the teen.


	3. Just Suck it Up and Pretend You're Happy

**Hello my lovelies! Semi-long time, no see!**

Alex walked down the hall of Meredith's house, trying to figure out how he was going to ask Meredith if his teenage sister could move in with them. Lexie already said she wanted to move into his room, so Amber can have her old room. It was across the hall from Alex's room, and next to it was April's. Down the hall a ways was Meredith and Derek's, and then Jackson's room.

Just as he was turning around to walk back down, April came out of her room, looking at Alex with a bewildered look. "Karev, what the heck? It's like 2pm. I'm glad you're wide awake, but you pace really loudly and I could really use a little bit of sleep." April said this rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Sorry." Alex mumbled, not really paying attention. April looked up surprised, Alex didn't really mumble, ever.

"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked, actually seeming concerned.

"My 13 year old sister needs someone to adopt her and I don't know how to ask Meredith if she can move into Lexie's room." April furrowed her brow.

"Where's Lexie going to go, then? If you think she's staying with me then think again, I had to share a room with my sister growing up and that was 18 years of hell so-" Alex cut her off by rolling his eyes and scoffing.

"No, dumbass, she's moving into my room." April's sour face broke into a smile.

"Awe, you guys are getting serious! You two seem pretty serious. I'm really happy for you two. As for your sister, why are you freaking out? She'd be lucky to have you as a guardian." April looked down and blushed.

Alex smirked slightly. "I thought you had a huge crush on Shepherd." He smirked, and she blushed harder.

"Yeah, but you're you, and.." She trailed, off, turning as red as possible.

Alex felt a little sorry for her, but got an indescribable feeling that he and April could become really, really good friends. He pulled her into a hug, and she remained rigid for a minute, confused. She gave in and wrapped her tiny arms around him, breathing in his scent. "I'd really like to your friend. I've never had a good friend before, I've always been annoying April that no one wants to talk to."

Alex looked at her. "I wanna be your friend." She smiled a little, giggling slightly.

"I never thought I'd hear those words in that order come from you to me. Ever."

Alex smiled too, and pushed her shoulder playfully. "Go take your nap, Grandma." April rolled her eyes and walked back in her room. Before she closed her door, she stuck her head out the door and gave Alex a wide grin.

"Hey Alex?" He turned around to look at April, who was still grinning.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Just ask Meredith already. You pace really loud." She smirked and closed her door, and Alex stood on the other side of it, laughing.

"You snore like a chainsaw, dumbass." He laughed, and he heard April shout "Hey!" before he walked off as quietly as he could.

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Amber stayed the night at The Archfield with Michelle, who was doing everything in her power not to answer Ambers onslaught of questions. Amber had asked when they were going back to Iowa a dozen times in the past hour, but it seemed her favorite was why they came to Seattle in the first place.

To Amber, Alex wasn't her brother. He wasn't family, he wasn't a friends, he was just a kid who used to live in her house.

She wouldn't admit it, but a large part of her would rather have stayed in Iowa with Aaron coming at her with a steak knife than come here and face Alex. She realized now, in her big hotel room, she'd never felt so alone before in her life.

It seemed ridiculous; she wasn't alone. Michelle was sitting a few yards away on her bed, tapping away on her laptop as usual. She really didn't want to see Alex again but she got a suspicion that she would be seeing a lot more of him.

"Why are we here?" She asked Michelle again. Michelle looked up at Amber again, shook her head, and resumed typing as if she hadn't said anything at all. Amber rolled her eyes and picked at her nails.

"When are we going back to Iowa?" Amber demanded, she nearly shouted. Michelle looked up at Amber, surprised. They had been at the hotel for nearly 12 hours, and Amber hadn't shouted once.

"We aren't going back to Iowa." Michelle admitted. Amber's head shot up at hearing that.

"What!? Why not?" She yelled, and Michelle cringed at the loudness.

"You'll have to talk to your brother about that." Amber launched herself off the bed as if she were burned when she heard this, clearly outraged.

"My brother's being pumped full of anti-psychotics in a mental hospital in Iowa. Alex is not my brother. We may share similar DNA, and have the same parents, but he's not my brother." Amber was crying now, little tears trickling down her cheeks. She looked positively broken.

"Brothers don't leave their sisters when they need them most. Alex left me and Aaron and Mom behind to move the freaking storm capital and never looked back. So whenever you're ready, I'm ready to go home and never look back." Amber sat down with a great huff, crossing her arms but still crying. She felt like a baby, but she couldn't fight the tears anymore.

"Amber, if Alex didn't leave, if he didn't come here and make this life, you would be in foster care again. I know you don't want that, and Alex's leaving is now giving you a way out of foster care. And if you turn around and go back to Iowa, you'll be bumped around foster homes like you were when you were four and five years old. Alex didn't leave you because he didn't care, he did it because he did. So, if I were you, I'd take the offer and let Alex adopt you, because you're facing a life of moving around for another 5 years."

Amber gave Michelle a nasty glare and looked away. "Well, you aren't me. I never want to see Alex's stupid face again. He made a choice to leave. He could have taken me and Aaron with him, but he didn't. He made a choice 7 years ago, so I'm making one now. I'd rather be shipped around for another 5 years then ever see him again. You wouldn't understand."

Michelle's eyes softened. "I don't know what it's like to have a brother leave. To feel as alone as you do. But I do know what it's like in foster care. I know what it's like to be shipped around, to feel unbelievably unwanted. I was a foster kid too, that's why I chose this profession. I can't tell you what I would have given to have a brother that cares for you as much as Alex does. He lives in a house with friends. You will be surrounded by people, most you don't know and may not like, but isn't it worth a try?

"It isn't my decision. It isn't yours either. It's Alex's, and I know he'd never go behind your back and force you into anything. Just talk to Alex, tell him what you're feeling."

Amber felt more tears fall down her cheeks.

"You heard him yesterday. He chose surgery over me. He chose surgery over me when I was 6, what's gonna stop him from doing it again if I live with him, and a bunch of other surgeons. It'll be like living with our dad again, he always chose drugs and alcohol over us."

"Alex is not your father. You're father did what he wanted to do without thinking about life you and your brothers would be left with. Alex does what he does everyday, saving children, to give you a better life. So I agree, it wasn't fair for him to leave you and Aaron with your mom. But that doesn't mean you can compare him to your dad. It isn't fair for him. He's trying desperately to give you a better, happier life. I have to say, you aren't making an already difficult job that mmuch harder. It sucks, you don't like it, but it's in your best interest to go with it. My best advice is to suck it up and accept that Alex has screwed up but forgive him. Take his help, put a smile on that face of yours and pretend you like it. You never know, you might end up loving it. But you'll never know unless you try."

Michelle finished her speech and turned back to her laptop and resumed typing.

"Yeah, okay, maybe, Amber mumbled. She dug her nails into her calves a little harder. They left angry red half moons in the pale skin, but Amber relished the pain. It gave her a funny feeling. It reminded her that she was still alive.

 **Kind of a weak ending, I know. I'm sorry, I meant for there to be another section in this chapter but I liked the Michelle/Amber bonding, so I let it carry on. Please review and tell me what you think of the Alex/April friendship. Its an Alex/Lexie story, so it won't get carried past friendship, but I've always kind of liked them together, and they have the potential to be a really good team together. Thanks for reading!**


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